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WILKES-BARRE - The story of goalie Peter Mannino's 2013-14 season is an amazing one.

Two months ago, the 30-year-old Michigan native was at home, suspended by the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for declining an assignment to the ECHL's Wheeling Nailers.

One month from now, he could very well be leading the Penguins into the Calder Cup playoffs for the 12th straight year.

Just about the only two people not shocked by the turn of events are Mannino himself and the man who writes Mannino's name on the lineup card every night.

"When we brought him in, this is the situation we wanted to have him come into," coach John Hynes said after practice Tuesday. "He has good experience in the league. He had two months off, but he went back to Wheeling and was playing real well. Maybe you have a guy who is fresh too."

Mannino is 4-0-1 with a 1.06 goals-against average and .954 save percentage since being called up from Wheeling on Feb. 28. Despite the disjointed nature of his season, he said he considers his strong play a natural carryover from his performance a year ago with the Manchester Monarchs.

With Bill Ranford and Kim Dillabaugh providing coaching, Manchester has been a goaltending hotbed lately. Since 2008, Jonathan Quick, Jonathan Bernier, Jeff Zatkoff, Martin Jones and Jean-Francois Berube - all of whom are having outstanding seasons this year - came through Manchester.

Before his season with the Monarchs ended with a lower-body injury in early February, Mannino went 10-7 with a .919 save percentage and made some key adjustments to his game.

"I did a lot of technical stuff with the coaching staff in Manchester," he said. "I think that really had me on a good page coming into this year."

Mannino deflects most of the credit for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's turnaround this month. The Penguins play a sound defensive system, allowing the second-fewest shots against in the league. That makes life easier for goalies, he said.

"We know if we limit the chances against, we're going to be ahead of the game," Mannino said. "A lot of teams play a similar way, but we're very detailed and as a team, we try to take care of our own end."

There is one area where he seems willing to accept a little praise. He takes pride in the way he communicates with his defensemen.

"If one of my D can tell me there's a guy back door, it can open up a whole new world," Mannino said. "Once I see that or I tell the D that he's there, now we know how to react exactly. If we just assume, you're going to turn and guess. There's no guessing when you talk. You definitively know where each person is on the ice."

Mannino has six NHL games with the New York Islanders, Atlanta Thrashers and Winnipeg Jets to his credit. He won a national title and was named the Frozen Four's most outstanding player with the University of Denver in 2005. He went 26-5-1 with the Chicago Wolves in 2009-10. He's in the midst of one of the most successful stretches a goalie could ask for.

The only thing missing from his resume is something he could end up getting this spring - a playoff run.

He's only played 15 postseason games as a pro, and a 2-1 loss to Milwaukee in Game 7 of a second-round series in 2010 still bothers him to this day.

"Definitely want it. Need this," Mannino said. "Playoffs is where I want to be, everybody on this team as well. We're looking for that. We're playing playoff hockey now."

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